Taken from its 2400 meter rim, behold one of the world’s natural wonders as it awakens to a new day

This is the planet’s largest intact volcanic caldera and is thought to have stood higher than Mt Kilimanjaro before it blew up and collapsed.

The 600 meter descent down the slope is rather steep and rough and tourist jeeps occasionally roll over. But once on the caldera floor the vistas are indeed reminiscent of the Garden of Eden it is often likened to.

Spanning just 20 kilometers across, it provides abundant year-round food and water renders migration unnecessary for its fortunate inhabitants. Indeed the hilly rim discourages its animal population from participating in the migrations that prevail in adjoining East African reserves.

With 30,000 ungulates to choose from, it’s a good life for the one hundred or so lions living here.

Nowhere is safari photography more rewarding my two scenic photos were taken with a 28mm lens and the lions with a 300mm telephoto, hence the reduced depth of field. It is also the home to the indigenous Maasai tribes people